What attracted you to your mate?
 

Was it her/his physical attributes, intelligence, attitude or something else? Did you know right away that you found "the one"? The high divorce rate has me curious as to how other guys pick their mate. Me, I'm shallow so it was T & A all the way! Just kidding. My wife was a challenge because when we first met, I didn't leave a good impression. She thought I was a conceited jerk. It took a lot to make her like me. We'll have been happily married 22 years this December.

I think it's a package deal. I've dated girls who might not have fit the package I'm typically physically attracted to, but they had other qualities I loved. Thought there was a "the one" a couple of times and turned out to be wrong. Didn't have to get married to figure that out, fortunately.

JP

Her potential to take me for everything I have... I did it twice so there must be something there. T&A was there, too, but clouded by chemically-adjusted reasoning.

Married 10 years this October. Looks of course were the first draw but after that her personality and character. She's very outgoing (not like me) but also opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind. She's a redhead through and through

The package. That was all. Yup, I'm that shallow.

My wife was the first girl I dated because I pursued her (rather than dating whoever was hitting on me at the time).

She's smart, funny, kind, talented, artistic, and damn cute. I realized this when I first met her 9 years ago but had to wait for her to realize the guy she was dating at the time couldn't hold a candle to me. ;)

Her cute freckles, and she looked good in a mini skirt...so, I asked her out. A night of conversation on our first date, which made me realize she had something between her ears as well. A couple of years of spending time together, then we drove to Reno on a summer weekend in '75. Easy, right? ;)

Tall (5'8"), Red/brown hair (But it was blonde at the time!) and she was interesting and interested. We had similar interests and she wasn't crazy (Still isn't for the most part even though I know her now). We've been together for 2 and a half years and married since November. I got her good and knocked up right away - she's 5 months along. =-)

We're both over 30 and we've both been a bit around the block but she's always smiling and I can't get enough of it.

i dated some hot woman, that could barely read. they knew nothing. world events, politics, math, nothing! it got old really fast. but i stayed with it for awhile. fun. my present girlfriend is more of a complete package. smart, witty...blah blah... love her.

but, i did run into an ex. she used to be a ballet dancer for the oakland ballet. friggen hot. i almost died. smokin body, and i saw her reading a book! i even remember the straw that broke the camels back. she dropped out of school to focus on dancing. she knew retirement comes early in that field. i asked her what her future plans were. she looked me into my eyes and she said, "i want to be a federal marshall"
"what?"
"yes, after watching that movie 'the fugitive' i think i want to be fed marshall, i like tommy lee jones!"

the next girlfriend was a stalker....

I was a 15 yr old schoolgirl, told the son of family friends from Italy was staying with us to learn english. I was expecting, a short, fat schoolboy. What arrived was a schoolgirl's fantasy in raybans and gucci loafers come true, well dressed, charming and too much money and too much experience for his age;). As Armando's english improved and I got to know him it just got better and found that not only did we share many similar interests but that we could talk together about the things we weren't both interested in and there was lots to laugh about together, that is something that is still true for us today. To my mother's horror he bought a motorcycle to tour with and we suddenly had real freedom. I knew for sure he was the ONE when I was about 18 and we'd had lots of exchange visits. (we won't talk about my being expelled from school after he was caught in my room on a school skiing holiday to Italy, my father was amused, my mother wasn't, my younger sister was jealous and the nun who caught us slapped my face and earned the broken nose I gave her).
We've been married 26 years with the usual ups and downs all couples face but I think we have a happy marriage, in part it's because we built a life and grew as individuals together and as a couple.

Once again you are my hero!

In January, my wife and I will be celebrating our 18th anniversary. She's truly my "better half" and I don't know what I would do without her. Her physical attractiveness may have caught my eye, but her incredibly warm and loving personality made me fall in love. She's my best friend, spouse, confidante, etc... all in one!! And she "supports" my Porsche habit and listens attentively when I tell her about the cars (which I know she really doesn't care about).

The hair under her arms...

im still thinking, i will get back to you.

blue, i will ask again,,, what have you done with martha?

LOL, Martha's on what we call a mandatory hiatus. :D

She's been replaced by my Japanese family's kamon.

my prospective mate better not like star trek.....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/175787-nerd-alert-star-trek-science-fiction-thread-post1443377.html#post1443377

Ah ha, I suspect someone else was schooled by nuns:D
There were ten years of abuse backing my punch. The penguin stood 8 inchs taller and weighed an easy 60lb more than me. Nothing like a stupid, ignorant Irish nun with heavy hands and 30 years of sexual frustration to clarify ones religious beliefs;)
In some ways that might have been the moment I really lost my heart to Armando. He very calmly took control, led the penguin out of the room, helped me pack and took me to his mother. There's something very attractive about a strong, masterful man who is also gentle that appeals to the little girl in me, even today I think he was and is a very attractive package, (I hope for his sake he's not feeling tired tonight, I feel like picking up from where the ***** nun interrupted:D )

LOL, no actually I had vicious Hebrew school teachers who attempted to squash any individual thought.

I did manage to get one of them fired, though not before she gave me a good slap or two for daring to comment on the Big Bang Theory vs. Creationism.

Sounds pretty similar:D
I'm usually very placid and gentle but I really lost it with that fat bully, I was 16 at the time but even more than 30 years later I still feel my blood boiling at the thought of her and feel the need to strike out.
A couple of years ago my convent school's old girls association with the convent contacted me on the scrounge for money. Armando and I had a lot of fun writing a reply in legalese from his studio (he's a lawyer), thanking them for their interest and reminding them that the settlement for assault was still outstanding (my father reacted to my being asked to leave the school with some legal actions, in truth a compromise was reached with the school but I was sure they no longer had details readilly available). Pointless but fun for us and I bet it woke the readers of our letter:D

PostScriptum.
When I got married my mother told me she was sure I was going to marry Armando when she saw us set eyes on each other for the first time. Moonstruck and cat-in-heat were my sister's choice words to describe the moment. Oh well, I'm older but no wiser and I'm still the same silly tart inside:D